According to Nemanja Starovic, official Belgrade wants to “fully normalize” relations with Pristina, however, according to him, such a thing should not happen at the expense of a state that loses everything.
Serbia, according to the Minister for European Affairs, Nemanja Starovic, is ready for “very difficult compromises” with Kosovo within the framework of the dialogue process in Brussels. According to him, official Belgrade wants to “fully normalize” relations with Pristina, however, according to him, such a thing should not happen at the expense of a state, which loses everything. “Belgrade is ready for dialogue with Pristina. It should not be a game where one side loses everything so that the other side gains everything. It should be a compromise”, he said in an interview for the Austrian news agency, APA.
Asked how the membership of both countries in the European Union is possible without first ending the dispute between Kosovo and Serbia, Starovic said that this is a very big challenge.
“But we are also aware that the European Union has always used practical and creative solutions,” Starovic said, citing the example of Cyprus, which became an EU member in 2004 despite the unresolved conflict over the northern part occupied by Turkey. During the interview, Starovic expressed his indignation at the arrest of the so-called deputy director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Igor Popovic, by the Kosovo authorities. “Belgrade demands the immediate and unconditional release of Popovic,” Starovic said.
He has also accused Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, of pursuing domestic politics “at the expense of the Serbian community.” “The only thing he can offer his voters is the oppression of the Serbian community in Kosovo,” he claimed.